[USS Charon, Bridge]
Eithne looked towards Sakarra as she informed Commander Lamont of the status of Security and the Marines, indeed they were already ready and standing by. She had reason to believe that they would do their job, and hoped that they would get out of this battle in one piece, at least with all crew aboard.
Ian looked at the holographic crewman at the operations console. He wasn't familiar with the avatar yet had heard about its existence. Having no time for introductions, Lamont simply continued issuing orders.
"Operations, if the Romulans manage to board the Charon and secure the bridge I need you to encrypt the ship's computers to prevent them from gaining access. If the ship is overrun and the auto destruct systems fail, are subverted, or cannot be activated your orders are to erase the contents of the ship's primary computer cores. We cannot allow any data to fall into Romulan hands. If you can find and exploit a Romulan computer weakness your orders are to upload yourself to their systems and wait for a suitable time to transmit yourself to Starfleet Command to inform them of what occurs here today. If you cannot copy yourself into their systems without detection your orders are to erase yourself along with the computer cores. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"
The hologram's eyebrow inched upwards millimeter by millimeter as the orders rained down upon the staff. Her smile spread wider along with it. "Yes, Captain," she replied smoothly, "I am prepared to do what I was programmed for."
Nodding, satisfied by the response, Ian turned toward Commander Eithne. "I hope my orders are in line Commander. It has been sometime, but hopefully I am not too rusty." He managed a faint, brief smile.
"You seem to have everything under control." She gave a soft smile which seemed to soften her face before she continued. "Only that in light of the present situation, you should have more confidence in yourself."
If you have any additional orders now would be the time to issue them. I suspect the Romulans will be making their entrance at any moment and once they set events in motion they will be impossible to stop."
She shook her head towards the Commander and nodded. "I have nothing else to add. I will act as counselor until your plan has succeeded Commander."
Whatever the Warbirds intended to set in motion, it did not seem to involve bothering with Charon. Impassive dark eyes followed the readings on the XO's auxiliary screen, and for all intents and purposes they were simply being … ignored.
Even a Vulcan found this quite insulting.
"Ensign M'Riarr, adjust your angle to the port bow. There are a number of small craft attempting to position themselves between us and Temep`Shar."
And the biggest shape was going right for her.
"If we intend to hail the lead ship or launch the fighters, I suggest doing so presently. There will be … ah, indeed."
As if following Sakarra's cue, the massive shape of a D'Dherex decloaked right above them and soared past, despite M'Riarr's best efforts to keep it away from the amaranth red shape of the vessel they were trying to protect. In the end, the Caitian pilot was faced with the choice to duck out of the way or be scooped aside and avoided grazing shields only with a desperate half-roll that sent the impulse engines screaming.
Savant seemed placid despite the dramatics of the situation - while everyone clung to their arm rests or pressed their backs into their seats, the hologram was unperturbed where she stood. She announced as the ship yawed mightily, "One of the frigates is an electronics frigate.
They're projecting broadband millicochrane interference - we've lost our locking signal on the away team. I'm switching to ultrahigh wavelength - belay that, switching to ultra-low waveleng- belay that. They're running a multispectral. Applying decryption events. Please stand by."
Lamont wanted to slam his fist into the armrest at the sight of the large Romulan starship sliding across the viewscreen toward the Temep'Shar. He resisted the emotional impulse quickly diverting his attention to the outcome that had presented itself. He didn't have time to worry about impulse engines, speed, vectors, or matters of tactical importance. With an overwhelming Romulan force bearing down upon the Vulcan ship and her secrets military tactics had become irrelevant.
No talk, no negotiation - the Romulans would take what they desired. Anything remaining, veritable table scraps, would be fed to the hungry dogs lying in wait. He anticipated this outcome surmising it would indeed be what occurred and yet it was the worst of all possibilities. If he could not stall the Romulan pursuit of the Vulcan ship a military option would be their only recourse. The thought of losing this match without a single word being spoken set every fiber within vibrating with anger and frustration. Fighting was a dead end option as it would only lead to ruin.
"Launch the fighters", Lamont shouted his voice clear and strong. He was determined to buy the away team the time they needed to prepare for evacuation. He had given the captain his word and he would succeed in his duties. "Hail the lead Romulan vessel. If they do not answer continue to repeat our hail on all frequencies." The temptation to send a threat flickered for a moment in Lamont's keen mind however he was in no position to cause them pause and quoting interstellar law would have no effect.
Opening a channel with the flick of a finger, Lamont called down to Engineering far sooner than he had anticipated. "Bridge to Engineering. Standby to coordinate with tactical the deployment of the dampening field and holographic projections on my mark." Leaving the channel open, Lamont stood moving toward the viewscreen as the rest of the bridge faded around him. He had to stop the Romulans without sacrificing the ship in a useless battle.
"Helm, move us closer to the Temep'Shar. All stations make ready for possible Romulan retaliation. I am gambling they do not see us as a threat. We can use their overconfidence to our advantage."
Even as nine of Charon's fighters barreled into the indigo swirls, seeking to intercept the small blips on their sensors that danced so impetuously between them and the Vulcan ship and M'Riarr struggled to somehow wedge the horribly outgunned Luna class underneath the Endless Sky – and it was her, that much the dark haired woman in the XO's seat already knew – the Warbirds still did not deign to take any notice.
Not so much fox and hound, but rather a pack of Le-Matya unperturbed by a tiny flock of birds. And why should they bother? The scent of blood was on the air, and their prey within reach. Silently, Sakarra wondered whether the survivors would spare them the decision after all and self-destruct before allowing their ship to be captured- if Temep`Shar was still capable of executing this function. If not … whoever commanded her was facing a difficult conundrum indeed.
"Tactical, load firing program. Ensure the phasers and torpedoes are set to no more than 15 percent yield. I want a massive, flashy explosion but do not want to cause additional damage to the Temep`Shar."
"Ie Rekkhai!," Aerv acknowledged. Let the translator take care of it. She was too busy to try to think in Anglish. The phasers would be mere spotlights. Limiting the torpedo yield was simple enough, but she must configure the collapse of the M/AM confinement so that the discharge directed towards the Warbird's sensors looked very unlike the trivial blow Temep`Shar received. Better fewer, smaller detonations, she decided, to blanket space between 'ally' and 'enemy' with a convincing show. It was some reassurance that she knew the D'Dherex's systems so well.
Lamont waited watching the tactical readouts displayed on the screen before him. Droplets of sweat were running down his face with the cold, almost painful sensation of ice. The Romulan ship moved closer, but he waited to act. Timing was critical. He had to deprive the Romulans of their prize at the proper moment to maximize its emotional effect.
A lifetime passed within the span of seven seconds as he watched and waited for the moment to arrive. When it did he issued his orders without hesitation in a commanding tone.
"Engineering! Now! Deploy dampening and holographic measures. Tactical! Fire all weapons!!
Hard on engineering's acknowledgement Aerv's fingers pounced on the console. "Iehyyakir'iyyhae! Yydlhein'iyyhae! Yydlhein'iyyhae!" [Phaser banks firing! Torpedoes away! Torpedoes away!]*
Crimson phaser beams streaked out toward the stricken Vulcan starship followed by long glimmering trails of quantum and photon torpedoes which shimmered within the blackness of space like a necklace of brilliant diamonds and rubies. Jewel like in appearance Lamont prayed the display would dazzle the Romulans both with their deadly, captivating splendor and their eventual effect.
[To be continued …]
Cmdr Eithne Kathris
Executive Officer
Capt Savant
Chief Operations Officer
Ambassador Ian Lamont
Diplomatic Advisor
LtCmdr Sakarra Tyrax
Chief Helm Officer
Farein Aerv ir-Rhynne t'Jaihen
Chief Tactical Officer
USS Charon
